Here at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents we have a long history of successful campaigning on issues which have the potential to save lives and reduce injuries. From awareness campaigns which highlight how people are killed and injured in accidents and how such accidents can be prevented, to calling for legislative change, RoSPA is committed to speaking up for safety.

RoSPA believes in the importance of using evidence – which enables accident prevention issues to be identified, campaigns to be prioritised and the impact of campaigns and interventions to be measured – and also that prevention should be in proportion to the risk.

Our campaigning spirit has been evident since our earliest days. In 1917, a campaign for pedestrians to walk facing oncoming traffic led to a 70 per cent fall in road deaths. We were instrumental in the introduction of the first seat belt law in 1983, with the compulsory wearing of seatbelts thought to have saved 60,000 lives. More recently, we called for the use of mobile phones while driving to be banned, with the use of hand-held phones at the wheel subsequently made illegal in 2003.

Other RoSPA campaigns have included: a five-year campaign which finally persuaded the Government to make it mandatory for all domestic appliances to be sold with fitted plugs; successful safety glass and fire-resistant foam furnishing campaigns; calling for a ban on cigarette lighters which were not child resistant, with such lighters now banned across Europe; urging employers and regulators to take seriously the risks associated with people who drive as part of their job – the managing occupational road risk campaign, which has now been running for 14 years; and a continuing drink-drive campaign, part of which involves calling for a lower drink-drive limit.

Campaigns E-Bulletin

Stand Up For Safety is an e-bulletin that focuses on important developments in each of our key campaigns. Its aim is simple: to update everyone who has expressed an interest in this work with an electronic newsletter every few months.